


After the War

by 04272005



Category: Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Reverse Falls, Crossover, Dimension Travel, M/M, More tags will be added later, Older Dipper Pines, Older Mabel Pines, Post-Gravity Falls, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-18 11:39:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16117646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/04272005/pseuds/04272005
Summary: After Weirdmageddon, Mabel and Dipper return home and begin high school. Two years later, something strange is happening again, and the twins go with Ford, Rick, and Morty to solve the mystery once again.





	1. A Sunny Day

**Author's Note:**

> Yee haw, ladies and gentlemen. Time for some Gravity Falls and Rick and Morty!

The air is cold and crisp, giving Dipper the wake up call he needs. It's the 7th of October, and it's beginning to cool down, even though the sun is shining. The air smells like leaves and the pumpkin spice lattes Mabel loves so much. He rubs his arms, shivering. High school sucks, as usual. Wendy was right about everything.

_Wendy..._

She's off in some college now, probably living it up at some frat party. Dipper heaves a sigh, shoulders dropping more. His back aches under the weight of his backpack.

"What's up, bro-bro?" Mabel hip checks him, making Dipper drop his calculus textbook. 

"Mable, if you ruin this book, I will steal all your Etsy money." Dipper sighs, dusting the water droplets off of the shiny cover.

"You wouldn't dare!" Mabel gasps dramatically. She drops a hand over her forehead and pretends to faint. "No really though, I need the money to buy Fernando a gift." Dipper sighs again.

Fernando was some guy she met at the carnival, and they hit it off immediately. She had dropped some of her embarrassingly dumb pickup lines, and he had fallen immediately. Fernando was a nice guy, likes reading and writing. He also is a raging Marvel fan. 

"Why? You've been together for two months." Dipper shifts uncomfortably under his backpack. "That's like...no time at all."

"It is when you're soul mates!" Mabel says, spinning around. Her earrings tinkle, jangling merrily. Dipper can spot little bells hanging from her ears. 

"Come on Mabel, I have homework to do." Dipper jangles the car keys. 

"Ugh, fine bro." She follows Dipper to their beat up 1999 Honda, who Mabel lovingly named Andrew Paxton, after the male lead in The Proposal. "You're going to kill yourself with that workload though. Look, you already have osteoporosis from your backpack!" She continues to ramble about Dipper's health, then trails off into complaining about her ex boy and girlfriends. Dipper tunes her out, the driving taking his mind off things. He drifts off, thinking back to that fateful summer, five years ago, when Mabel and Dipper were 12. Images of a yellow homicidal dorito roll through his mind. 

"-ipper! Red light, red light!" Mabel shouts, pointing out the windshield. Dipper slams on the brakes, making Mabel fly forwards into the dashboard. Mabel shrieks, throwing her hands out in front of her. She lands face first on the dashboard. She squeaks, face mashed into the hard surface. Dipper's seatbelt digs uncomfortably into his neck, but he's saved from breaking his nose on the dashboard. Dipper raises his head, heartbeat slowing down. The sun seems suddenly, unbearably bright for three p.m.

**_Some sunny day..._**

The voice rings through his head, making Dipper sit up straight and shiver. No. He can't be back. We made sure of that. He ignores the cars honking behind him. A single, cartoon, black eye flashes in his vision.

Bill. Dipper fumbles for his phone, punching in Grunkle Ford's number as Mabel yells at him to drive, and the honking grows excessively loud. Hands shaking, he raises the phone to his ear. The phone rings a few times before his Grunkle's voice comes over the receiver.

"Dipper, go straight home. I'll explain later." His Grunkle almost growls, and hangs up. Dipper sits in the car, thoughts racing through his mind. He begins to sweat, as he thinks what could possibly make his kind Grunkle sound like that.

"Dipper, drive!" Mabel smacks his arm, and Dipper turns out of the intersection, shaken. They continue on, silent except for Mabel's 90's pop trickles through the speakers. 

_Hit me baby, one more time..._

"Bro-bro, what's wrong? You haven't been like this since Wendy's bra got stuck on your vest." Dipper flushes, then shakes his head. This could be huge.

"We have to get home, now." He says. Bill's eye flashes through his vision again. "Grunkle Ford will explain."

The rest of the ride is in silence, except for Mabel quietly humming Backstreet Boys.

_Tell me why..._

* * *

Dipper picks up a note at the door. It reads,

Dear Dipper and Mabel, 

Mom and Dad have won tickets to a week-long cruise! We've left $300 in the envelope, for food and what not. 

We'll be back soon! Love you.

"What?" Mabel gasps, eyes widening. "Mom and Dad never win anything!" She snatches the envelope, and thumbs through the money. "And now we can throw a wild parrrrtayy!" She whoops, dancing around.

"That's not the point, Mabel!" Dipper groans, unlocking the door. The house is dark, except for the kitchen. Dipper creeps towards the light, peeking around the corner. His Grunkle stands there, whispering to a tall, skinny man with bright blue hair and a...matching unibrow? He narrows his eyes, and turns around, some sort of sci-fi gun in his hand.

"Reveal your-urrrp-self." He says, burping obnoxiously loud. Ford whips around as well, scanning the hallway.

"Grunkle Ford! It's us!' Mabel bursts through the doorway, arms open wide. She tackles Ford, who catches her, chuckling. He ruffles her hair, smiling.

"Mabel! How have you been?" He pushes Mabel back, looking her once over. It _had_ been five years. Stan and Ford had gone on their adventure, and couldn't return to the Mystery Shack. Dipper and Mable had visited a few times, but each twin had been busy over the summer. Stan had just recently come back from adventuring, and had been helping Soos and Melody run the Shack. Ford had been off in other dimensions again.

"Grunkle Ford?" Dipper steps out from behind the door way.

"Oh god, there's-ghhhh-two of them." The blue haired man groans, pulling a flask from his white lab coat. He takes a long swig, then swishes the liquid around.

"Rick. Please, no drinking around the kids." Ford places a hand on the man's shoulder. 

"Urrp-Fine. Fuck, man." He stuffs it in his jacket. "Mooorty! Have you found the wafer cookies?" He yells.

"Yeah, Rick. I'm coming." A brown haired boy wearing a yellow t shirt and blue jeans steps around the door, holding a box of generic brand cookies. He spots the twins and smiles warmly.

"Who are these people?" Dipper asks Ford.

"Associates from a while back. This is Rick," The blue haired man burps again loudly, "And his grandson, Morty." The brown haired guy waves. Dipper weakly waves back.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Mabel, but you can just call me honey!" Mabel screeches, launching herself onto Morty. Morty raises his hands, flailing as Mabel crushes him. Dipper sighs, grabbing the back of Mabel's turtleneck.

"Mabel, Fernando!" Dipper shouts. Mabel detaches herself.

"Right..."

"Ford, did you see what I saw?" Dipper waves his hands in the air. "Like, like, like, a-a large cartoon eye, like-like Bill's! Is he...back?" Dipper stammers, palms beginning to sweat.

"We don't know." Ford says, face grave. 

"Yeah, the whole-gghhh-citadel is going crazy. Whatever it is, it's fucking up like, everything." The man, Rick, is munching on wafer crackers, crumbs spilling from his mouth as he talks. Dipper grimaces, it reminds him of Mabel doing that to him.

"That's why I called Rick. This isn't just this universe's problem anymore, this...this...thing could destroy all of existence. Despite how he looks, he has much more advanced technology than I do."

"Damn straight, buddy! Stanford's a genius, but I'm a god." Rick tosses the box of wafers over his shoulder. "Now then, shall we go?"

"Yes. We need to hurry." Ford faces the wall as Rick draws another, strange sci-fi gun out of his lab coat. 

"Wait! What about Mom and Dad? And the house?" Mabel cries.

"They'll be safe. That cruise was designed by Rick with a 'keep the Pines safe' protocol." Ford waves a hand. "We need to go now. The house will be the least of your worries." Ford nods at Rick, who fires the gun, making a glowing green...portal? He steps through it, and with a  _schloop,_ disappears. Morty follows, then Ford. Mabel looks up at Dipper. Her usually bright eyes are darkened with fear. She takes a breath, and grabs Dipper's hand, sweat and all.

"Mystery twins?" Mabel says, voice shaking. Dipper squeezes her hand, smiling reassuringly.

"Mystery twins."

They step into the portal together, just like old times.


	2. The Smiths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Morty bring Ford, Dipper, and Mabel to Rick's secret underground sci-fi lair for a briefing.

"Urrrp-Hey Beth." Rick burps, patting his daughter on the shoulder. "We'll be in the garage."

"Ok-Wait! Who are these people?" Beth stands up, knocking her chair over as Ford, Dipper, and Mabel enter the house.

"Friends. We'll be saving the multiverse now if you don't-ggguurp-mind." Rick takes another swig from his flask. 

"Hi Mom." Morty passes by, following Rick to the garage. 

"Come along now. We have much to discuss." Ford pushes both twins gently by the shoulders. Dipper gazes around the mundane house. This was definitely not what he was expecting.

"Yeah, that's what most people think." Morty is suddenly next to him. Dipper jumps. The boy's presence is...well, minute to say the least.

"W-what?"

"You said this wasn't what you were expecting." Morty says again. "The garage is more what you were expecting." He pushes open the garage door, and Dipper is greeted by a sight not unlike his Grunkle Ford's basement. 

"Woah!" Mabel gasps. She pulls a pink switchblade from a box, flicking it open.

"Are you ready to stab?" It asks in a cheery voice. Mabel stares at it, processing what it just said.

"Yeah, put that away. Bad memories." Rick snatches it from Mabel, shoving it into his lab coat. He kicks the rug away from the ground, opening a hatch to another room. It glows red and green lights. "After you, Sixer." He drops into an exaggerated bow. Ford climbs the ladder down, Rick jumping in after him. 

"Yeah! Creepy garage lab lair!" Mabel hoots, leaping into the hatch. Dipper sighs, crawling into the opening in the floor, Morty bringing up the rear. 

"Ok, so these," Rick pulls up a whiteboard with a chart mapping dimensions. Three are marked in red. "Are the main places anomalies have been popping up." He points to one marked. "Dimension C-186, basically the same as ours, but everything happened in reverse." Rick catches Morty and Mabel's confused stares.

"Dino-uurrp-saurs. C-43. Another one like ours, but the females are the dominant gender." Rick shudders.  "Those women are terrifying. Men don't even want to fight back."

"Yeah! Girl power!" Mabel punches the air. 

"And last, C-274. The reverse dimension." Rick taps one circled and underlined in red. "The most anomalies have come from here. My portal gun has been going bonkers fucking yonkers recently. Your dimension is the only one I've been able to fucking get to recently without landing somewhere weird." Morty shivers. "Probably cause you got rid of Bill."

"You know who Bill is?" Dipper stands up.

"Yeah. I know exactly what he is." Rick burps, then takes out his flask again.

"Really? Tell me, please!" Dipper pulls out a small notepad, flipping open to a new page. He begins to click his pen quickly, muttering about strange yellow organisms and Doritos.

"A huge, fucking, asshole." Rick drains the flask, then stuffs it back into his jacket. Dipper stops clicking his pen sadly. "Anyway, there are huge holes in space time now. Someone is fucking with something they don't understand."

"Right. Rick has been looking into the dimensions with the biggest tears in them. They seem to all be of the C series, even the dimensions with minor anomalies. Except us." Ford points out several other dimensions.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Dipper protests. "Why has our dimension been left alone?"

"Yeah, Rick. That really doesn't make sense." Morty agrees. 

"I said it's probably-ggguurp-because you destroyed your Bill." Rick pulls a box out of a cabinet.  

"According to the Multiverse Law of Infinity, there is an infinite number of universes, and because of that, an infinite number of organisms. Including Bill Cipher." Ford continues. "Because there's an infinite number of Bills, or organisms that are the Bill for that dimension, there are an infinite number of possibilities of what happened during that summer. In only two, had Gravity Falls stayed completely unscathed during Weirdmageddon. In the other infinity, Bill had killed everyone, destroyed the town, gotten the formula and destroyed the whole world, possessed someone, etc, etc. This all happened after I made the original deal with Bill. Our dimension is the closest to the center, and our decisions ripple outwards, reaching many more dimensions than others. He had then gained enough power to set his plan into action. Then these strange holes began to pop up in all dimensions coded C."

"Yeah. Sixer, you really fucked up with that deal. Like, I've definitely sold my soul, but, _damn._ " Rick burps. He begins to rumage through a box as Ford ignores him.

"C dimensions have a similarity, which is Earth containing weirdness. That is why Bill had only invaded C dimensions. Dream demons themselves come from Z dimensions, none of which have ever been recorded." Ford points back at the whiteboard. "The only two dimensions that have been left unscathed are us, C-137, and Reverse, C-274. In our dimension, we destroyed Bill by erasing him. In their dimension, the Mabel and Dipper Pines, or should I say Mabel and Dipper  _Gleeful_ , made a deal with their demon, preventing Weirdmaggedon entirely."

"What?" Dipper's mind flails, processing what Ford had just said. "Gleeful? A deal with Bill? No Weirdmaggedon?"

"All of that's rather hard to explain, but I think we'll be paying them a visit soon." Ford says.

"Yeah, fucking twins were creepy as shit." Rick agrees, fiddling with a dangerous looking rifle. He catches Dipper staring at the massive gun. "What? We'll need it around them." Dipper turns back around.

"Bills have always been invading C dimensions, but this is the first time something like these space time holes have happened." Ford stares at the white board, lost in thought. "It's...strange to say the least."

"What will we do then?" Mabel cuts in. "There's all this weird crap happening, and you dragged us to this new dimension, and now you're telling us there's another, evil version of ourselves? Why should we have to be involved in this?" Dipper whips around, confused.

"I thought you were excited for this!" Dipper says. "You were pumping your fists earlier!" Mabel looks at the ground.

"I was. But all of this new stuff, evil twins, a bajillion Bills, the universe possibly ending..." Mabel looks up at Dipper. "I'm...not as strong as you are, Dipper." She sighs, fingering her jangly bell earrings. 

"You don't have to participate." Morty speaks. "But, in one way or another, you'll get dragged in. This is the universe we're talking about." He sighs, like this is routine for him. "When you're associated to a genius, you'll always get dragged in. You have two to deal with." Morty pats Mabel's shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah..." 

"That's right, MooOooorty." Rick groans. He had a lazy grin on his face. "You would know." Morty sighs. Dipper sees pain in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mabel. It was my lack of foresight that led you here. I will do my best to fix this, but I will need all of your help." Ford stands up straight.

"Right. You owe me, Sixer." Rick belches loudly, a his portal gun laying on the table. "Now help me get this fucker ready to jump through tears in space time."

 


	3. Reverse Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Ford fuck up big time.

"Oh my god, Mabel! This is ah-dor-ah-ble!" Summer gushes, rubbing the sleeves of Mabel's new prototype sweater.

"I know, right! I spent three days designing and making it!" Mabel beams, pride radiating off her in waves. 

"How much! Tell meeeeee!" Summer throws her self down at Mabel's feet.

"60 dollars..." Mabel grins though. "For you though, it's free!"

"Oh my gawd, you, my girl, are the best!"

Dipper pulls his hat down further, trying to ignore the girls screeching in the kitchen.

"Hey man." Morty sits down on the couch next to Dipper.

"Hey." Dipper mumbles, scribbling something in his notebook. He'd been trying to keep a journal like Grunkle Ford since Bill had burned the originals. Morty fidgets next to Dipper, a little uncomfortable.

"You-you wanna go watch some TV?" Morty asks, looking at Dipper.

"Eh." Dipper grunts, vigorously erasing a line on his sketch of the multi bear.

"O-ok." Morty flicks the TV on, the channel flipping to a shot of a destroyed Gravity Falls. Dipper shuts his notebook.

"I'm Shandra Jimenez, and the world as we know it is coming to an end." The news anchor's hair is disheveled and matted, a large chunk of it missing. A strange square that looks like Bill, but blue and with two eyes, stands behind her, cackling. Shandra disintegrates, and the screen goes black.

"What?" Dipper grabs the TV. "How-what-"

"H-hey, man. Calm down. That's the inter-dimensional TV." Morty gestures to a pink crystal in the TV. Dipper releases the TV.

"Oh."

"Yeah. I guess that really confirms it then." Morty changes the channel. "Huh. Lil' Bits is still open?"

The rest of the afternoon is spent in comfortable silence, with the occasional comment from either boy.

* * *

"So, Ford. You sure fucked up." Rick leans against the counter. 

"We all fuck up, Rick." Ford angrily screws a bolt into place. The gun jumps, making Ford slap a hand over it.

"Never on a scale this large." Rick asks, pulling a vial from a cabinet. He eyes it, swirling the liquid around in the vial, then shrugs, draining it. He burps loudly.

"It's only this large because you refused to help me!" Ford suddenly turns. His eyes are flashing. Rick drops the vial in his hands.

"I couldn't leave this family again." He growls. "You should understand. I couldn't have dropped everything to go out into dimension Z-292 for however long it took me to save your sorry ass!" 

"You could have prevented all this!" Ford waves a hand. "You could have stopped Bill!"

"It's not my fucking job to clean up after you!" Rick shouts, "I solve all of my problems by myself. I take responsibility!"

"By dismantling the whole goddamn Citadel? By destroying the whole intergalactic government?" Ford grabs Rick by his coat. "They could have helped us! But you, with your short foresight." Ford drops Rick back on the table. "Now we're totally fucked. You though you were helping your family, but now they'll all die or be possessed."

"I am not taking the fucking blame for what you did!" Rick yells, pushing Ford. Ford stumbles backwards, hitting the shelves. "You six fingered freak!" Ford recoils, hands coming up to his chest. His face falls, then hardens again.

"You..." He growls, shoving Rick into the counter. Rick's arms go flailing, searching for some support. He smacks the portal gun Ford had been working on. It lands face down, one of the bolts coming loose.

"Fuck." Rick curses, standing up. He reaches for the gun, but as his fingers brush it, it begins to glow green. "Fuck! Ford get-"

The garage is filled with light.

* * *

"Hey, what the hel-" Dipper begins to yell.

The light fades, and the house settles down. 

"Dad, what just happened?" Beth comes around the corner, hair slightly disheveled, and a fried egg on her shirt. Rick stumbles out of the garage, blinking hard.

"Nothing, sweetie, it's just-Holy fuck." 

"Gravity Falls?" Mabel shouts, standing up. Summer follows after her. The Mystery Shack sits right where it always is. The water tower is where it's supposed to be. Over the horizon, you can see the Northwest Mansion. 

"How did we get here?" Dipper races to the window. He scans the landscape. Yup, a carbon copy of Gravity Falls.

"We need to check everything." Mabel says, voice serious. Dipper opens his mouth in awe. His sister was finally doing something pertinent to the problem at hand! "Squeeee! I missed this place so much!" She shouts, hugging Summer, who's wearing Mabel's new prototype sweater. "We need to see if the boys have gotten cuter!"

"Mabel, focus! Universe? Multiverse???" Dipper snaps his fingers in front of Mabel's face. Mabel's face straightens, but her eyes are still gleaming. Dipper sighs. 

"Let's-uurrrrp-fuckin-uuuurghh-go." Rick belches incredibly loudly, spreading the smell of gasoline across the living room. Ford grimaces, tucking a gun under his jacket. He pushes up the bridge of his glasses.

"The portal gun is broken. We'll need a few days to make a new one. In the mean while, you all shout get out of the house, explore." Ford looks at Mabel. "For once, you have my full permission to flirt with boys." Mabel and Summer scream. Dipper sighs. He's really sighing a lot.

"I know, right." Morty sighs. Dipper's lips curls upwards a little. Maybe it wouldn't be so unbearable now.

* * *

"Hey there, hottie? I lost my phone number, can I have yours?" Mabel winks at a random guy on the street, who smiles painfully and scurries away. Dipper sighs, again. Still painful, even with Morty. Mabel hasn't improved her flirting skills at all, but she does have her braces off now and puts on a touch of makeup. She's added some new clothes into her wardrobe, but her sweaters are her main thing. She occasionally wears the pair of jeans, but for the most part, wears sweaters with various colored skirts. Instead of black flats and socks all the time, she wears Converse, Vans, and sometimes, heels. But never over 2 inches. 

"Nice one, Mabel! You are the best, seriously." Summer high fives Mabel, grinning. Mabel puffs out her chest, grinning.

"Man, I'm starving." Morty groans, putting a hand over his stomach. Dipper catches his eye. Morty winks.

"Yeah, so hungry!" Dipper dramatically wails. He rubs his stomach, making the best puppy dog eyes he can, which are admittedly, not that good. 

"Fine. We'll meet you at Greasy's in an hour and a half." Mabel says. Dipper and Morty perk up, looking towards Greasy's, their sweet, sweet, oasis.

"OkMabelSummerByeeeeeeee!" Dipper grabs Morty by the arm and books it. They arrive, panting at the door of the Diner. Dipper pushes it open, expecting the usual grimy interior and ugly furniture choices, but is met by a clean, classy restaurant. 

"Hello, young men! Can I get you two a table?" Lazy Susan stands at the front, clipboard tucked neatly under her apron. Except...it's not Lazy Susan. This woman is a lovely lady with a clean yellow dress and _two_ working eyes. She looks over Dipper and Morty, brushing over Morty, then recoiling when she spots Dipper. She takes a step back.

"Yeah, just us two." Morty smiles, oblivious to Lazy Susan's reaction. She nods her head quickly and leads them to a table by the biggest window. A family is already sitting there.

"If you wouldn't mind, could you perhaps move?" Lazy Susan asks, eyes pleading the family to agree. The father looks up, confused.

"Of course not! What kind of-" He notices Dipper, then, paling, bows his head and mutters quietly.

"O-of course." Lazy Susan calls over some waiters who clear the table, moving the food away.

"Sorry for the wait, Master Mason and his friend. I'll bring your food out in a bit." She bends into a curtsy, then hurries away.

"W-what was that about?" Morty asks as they sit down. "Are y-you like royalty here? Is your name Mason?" He fiddles with the salt shaker.

"Hardly. My name is Mason, though. I have no clue what that was about, unless the Dipper, or I guess, Mason here is weird too." Dipper nervously laughs.  

"Here you go, sir." A waiter places a big plate of hash browns and sausage in front of Dipper with a bottle of ketchup and a cup of black coffee. "For you, sir?"

"U-um yeah. I-I'll have a-a plate of pancakes, extra whipped cream." Morty orders. The waiter nods, walking back to the kitchen. Dipper pokes at the food.

"W-what's up, man?" Morty asks. 

"I _hate_ hash browns. And black coffee is disgusting!" Dipper says. He pushes the plate away.

"Here you are, sir." The waiter is back.

"Could I get some waffles, whipped cream, cherry on top and some chocolate milk?" Dipper asks. "I hate this stuff." The waiter's eyes widen.

"Y-yes, right away, sir." He scribbles the order down.

"Thanks." Dipper leans back in the booth. The waiter almost gasps, but turns on his heel sharply, heading back for the kitchen.

"W-weird." Morty mutters. They sit in silence for a while. Morty shovels his food in. 

"Here's your food-"

"Susanna, get me my table, now!" Dipper's voice rings through the diner.

"M-master Mason! Wait-" Lazy Susan runs to the front, looking back at Dipper and Morty, then 'Mason'. Dipper stands up.

"Who are you?" 'Mason' asks. He leers at Dipper. His eyes are an electric blue and he wears a navy blue blazer with black pants. His hair is gelled back, revealing the Ursa Major birthmark. A shiny teal pendant hangs around his neck. It seems to shine softly.

"Who the hell are you?" Dipper says. Not his proudest comeback, but he was facing off with a clone ten times more stylish than him. Also might be royalty.

"I asked you, maggot." He walks towards Dipper, pressing a finger into his chest. His eyes burn Dipper's, making him look away.

"D-dipper Pines." He says reluctantly.

"Dipper? What a dumb name." The doppelgänger laughs. 

"Hey, your name is Dipper too!" Dipper protests. The other Dipper scowls, eyes flashing brighter. Geez, did this guy implant LEDs into his irises?

"No, it's not. It's Mason, and you will address me as such!" Plates begin to rattle.

"Please, Mason, calm down. It's not like the name will kill you." A girl with brown hair, wearing a light blue dress with a navy blue blazer, same as Mason's, blue gem hairpins, and ankle wrap black Louboutins. Her face is covered in makeup. Her heels clack loudly against the tiles.

"Mabel." He almost spits the name. Dipper suddenly makes the connections. He didn't realize it at first, but the girl with heavy makeup was indeed her sister.

"Calm, brother. You'll get sick again. Let's just enjoy a meal with these lovely people." Her lips curl up, and like she's talking, move the slightest bit. Her brother's eyes widen, then close. He sighs. (Again with the sighs, was this universal Dipper culture?)

"Fine." Mason's pendant dims, and the plates fall with a clink back to the tables.

"Wait, a meal with you two? No way-" Dipper starts, but evil Mabel fixes him with a look, and his tongue is sealed onto the roof of his mouth.

"Ok? Yeah, sounds great, other brother dear!" Mabel's grins wider, not unlike the Cheshire Cat's smile.

"D-did I miss something, or do you two have evil twins?" Morty cuts in, eyes darting back and forwards in between Dipper and Mason. 

"No. Shut up, before I catch your stupid." Mason snaps, striding to the table with the large window. Mabel follows cheerily after. They slide into the booth, Dipper's body forcing him to do the same. Mason begins to stab at the sausages and hash browns. Mabel's matching hair pins begin to glow softly.

"So. Tell us everything, other brother dear."


	4. Gleeful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper and Mabel get Morty and Summer captured by their doppelgängers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late, I had no ideas. This might suck.

The twins' eyes are burning Dipper's eyes out of their sockets. The piercing blue is so different from his and Mabel's dark brown. Dipper scrunches his face up, shaking his head.

"Hey, lesser me, answer me now! Where do you come from!" Dipper-no-Mason demands. Dipper feels a sort of force grip his brain. His mouth opens and words come out of the back of his throat.

"D-dimension C-137." He mutters, turning his head away. God, those eyes were too goddamn bright, was this a shitty Wattpad fanfic that Mabel had written back when she was 15?

"Ah, trans-dimensional travelers." Other Mabel muses, taking a sip of her earl grey. "Perhaps we should bring them to Great-Uncle Stanford?" Dipper sits up straighter.

"You have a Ford?" He asks, tongue heavy from the twins' magic.

"Ford? You call him  _Ford?"_ Mason arches a single perfectly groomed eyebrow. His eyes flash with a hint of fear.

"Ugh, Mason, let's just go. Great-Uncle Stanford will take care of it." Other Mabel groans. She tosses her hair over her shoulder. "Follow us, other brother and weird kid." She stands up, gracefully gliding out of the booth where Dipper's Mabel almost certainly would have tripped. Mason follows, LED eyes fixed on Dipper. Dipper shivers under his gaze. This was definitely enough weirdness for one day, let alone going to meet his Grunkle's doppelgänger.

"Dipper, Morty! We found..." Mabel trails off, spotting the double Dippers. "Wait..." She squints her eyes.

"Uh..." Other Mabel looks back at Mabel, confused. Mabel suddenly lunges forwards, grabbing other Mabel's shoulders. She gazes intensely at other Mabel. Other Mabel stiffens. Mason snorts.

"My long lost sister!!!" She squeals, hugging other Mabel. Dipper sighs, face-palming internally. Mason does the same. Other Mabel scowls, pushing Mabel away. She points a finger at Mabel, her pendant glowing. Mabel floats to the ceiling. Other Mabel glares at Summer, scrutinizing her. Summer crosses her arms, turning up her nose. Mabel points a finger at her too, making Summer rise to the ceiling. 

"You're coming with us. We're going to see our Great-Uncle." Other Mabel tosses her hair over her shoulder, walking out of Greasy's, Mable and Summer squawking overhead.

* * *

Ford scrapes at the large sheet of metal, scratching a symbol onto the metal.

"Rick, how the hell is this going to help us make a new portal gun?" Ford steps back, eyeing the large portal now occupying the garage. Ford

"I don't have the materials to make one from scratch, so we need to go find the materials." Rick taps a screen, taking a swig of Beth's stash of wine. "I ran out of battery crystals." Rick flicks a shard of a pale green rock at Ford. "This was the last one I had. So we're using your ghetto-ass trans-dimensional portal." 

"Hey!" Ford protests. He knows it's true though, his portal clunky and inefficient compared to Rick's gun. You couldn't even pick the dimension you wanted to go to.

"Hu-uuurrr-rry up with that." Rick burps, dropping the empty wine bottle on the ground. He lugs out a large, purple battery and plugs it into the side of the portal. Ford listens to the familiar whirr of the portal starting up. The symbols flicker blue, then purple. Ford hits the switch, and the house begins to rattle, the light swinging madly. 

"Long time." Ford mutters, as the portal comes to life, the center turning purple. Rick grabs a bottle of wine, then jumps through. Ford follows. He opens his eyes, stepping out of the portal. Rick stands next to the giant hunk of metal.

"Holy shit." Rick mutters. Ford looks around. It looks like a normal city, but Rick seems to be panicking.

"Rick?" One of the citizens turn. The lady has yellow eyes.

"Hey, Unity." Rick mumbles.

* * *

"Of course I can give you the parts." A sharply dressed man says. He has blue skin and three horn-things protruding from his forehead.

"Oh god, really? Thanks, Unity." Rick says, sipping from a mug of liquor.

"Rick, who is this?" Ford asks. He holds a flask of coffee. 

"L-long story, Sixer." Rick groans. He finishes the mug of liquor, and places it on a tray. "One we don't have time for." Rick burps.

"Here, Rick." A young woman with auburn hair and glasses places a large box on the desk. "From when you..." She trails off at the look Rick gives her.

"Anyways, we should be heading back now. The kids should be back at the house around now." Rick stands abruptly. He grabs the box, already at the door.

"Yeah..." The woman turns away. "I'll see you around, Rick." Rick frowns, pushing out the doorway. 

"Um, thank you very much, um, Unity." Ford says, bowing uncertainly. He waits for a response, but after getting nothing, quickly begins to leave.

"Hey, Ford, right?" The business man speaks. Ford stops.

"Yes..."

"Take care of Rick, will you?" Ford looks at the ground, scoffing.

"He wouldn't want it." He turns, jumping through the portal.

* * *

Mason and the Other Mabel dump the quartet into the back of their car. Dipper can feel the engine rumble underneath him. Mabel is screeching again, hugging Summer tightly. Morty is curled up into a ball, muttering into his knees. 

"Hey, get out." Mason opens the back of the car, the bright sunlight shining over Northwest Mansion. Other Mabel's heels clack on the stones next to Mason.

"Hurry up. Great-Uncle will be angry if we're late for dinner."

A butler pushes open the door to the giant and elaborate mansion. Dipper looks around. It seems to be the same but with Pines Family ancestors instead of Northwest ancestors.

"Oh, Master Mason, Lady Mabel-" A young man dressed in a blue tailcoat with a triangle eyepatch over his right eye holding a staff rushes out. He spots the Smiths and the Pines, and stops. "Are these guests?"

"Yes, Get them some clothes fitting for dinner. I need to introduce them to Great-Uncle Stanford." Mabel orders, tossing her blazer at the man. He scrambles, catching it before it hits the floor. 

"Yes, ma'am." He bows deeply, turning to Dipper, Mabel, Morty, and Summer. "Follow me, please." 

Dipper pulls at the collar of his shirt. He's getting deja-vu. The blue man gave him a white collared shirt, a navy blue vest, a black tie, black slacks, and dress shoes. Dipper fumbles with his tie. The man sweeps over without a word, tapping the tie with his staff. It ties itself.

"T-thanks-" The man sweeps away, tying Morty's bowtie and zipping Mabel and Summer's dresses. He bows, gesturing towards the exit.

"The Masters are writing for you." Mabel tosses her hair, grinning widely. She has a light blue dress on with a velvet choker and sparkly white heels. Summer is wearing a navy blue body con dress with a diamond necklace and black pumps. Morty is wearing a royal blue suit with a black bow tie.

_So much blue..._

Dipper and the others awkwardly shuffle out of the closet, entering a long hallway. Mabel begins to skip down the hallway, twirling and spinning.

"Oh my god, Mabel, these dresses are so cute!" Summer gasps, fluffing her skirt. 

"I agree!" Mabel brushes the bodice of her dress, feeling the fabric. "We should ask other me if we can keep them."

"Agreed." The two chatter back and forth about blue fashions while Dipper's mind races.

"Hey, man. " Morty pats Dipper's shoulder.

"Hey, dude." 

"Don't stress about what's happening, man. We can always call Rick and your Grunkle to bail us out." 

"Yeah..." Dipper sighs. "You're probably right. I'll just enjoy this fancy dinner then."

The blue man pushes open the doors to the dining hall. Mabel and Summer gasp audibly. Dipper gulps.

"Ohhh mannnn...." Morty squeaks.

The dining hall is outrageously grandiose, with chandeliers sprouting from the ceiling that are dripping with crystals. The ceiling has an intricate blue (of course) mural with silver trim. The table is long and covered with a blue silk tablecloth. (this is just stupid). Other Mabel and Mason sit next to the person sitting at the head of the table. He lifts his head up, and Dipper's skin crawls.

It's Grunkle Ford, but not at the same time.

 


	5. Blue Silk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very awkward dinner.

"Sit." The deep voice is soft and quiet, but holds a power. Dipper sits at the other head of the table, Mabel and Morty to both sides of him. Summer sits next to Morty. Mabel and Summer are both uncharacteristically silent. The blue man appears again, hands raised at his sides. Dishes slide onto the table, clinking softly.

"Great-Uncle-" Mason opens his mouth. Other Ford raises his hand, and Mason falls silent.

"I know. Trans-Dimensional travelers?" Dipper, Mabel, Morty, and Summer all nod, held captive by the blue-green irises behind the glasses sitting at the head of the table. He smiles, lips curling up in an artificial smile. "Eat. You must be hungry from all that travel." He waves a hand at the blue man standing silently at the head of the table. "Will." The blue man snaps his fingers, and the lids from the platters sitting on the table snap to life, floating into his hands. Dipper watches as a large, perfectly cooked steak appears onto his plate. His stomach growls. He hasn't eaten since morning, he got dragged out of Greasy's before he could eat anything.

"Um, can we..." Dipper trails off, itching to tear off a piece of the steak.

"Yes, go ahead." Other Ford smiles that fake, unsettling smile again. Dipper uncertainly cuts the steak, raising the meat to his mouth. He chews and swallows. He can't feel anything wrong with it, so he takes another bite. The others take this as the cue to start eating. Dipper can feel the other twins piercing eyes drilling into his forehead, mocking the way he eats, the way the vest fits on him, the way he pushes his bangs over his forehead instead of showing off the birthmark. Dipper slowly sets down the fork and knife, pushing the plate away. His appetite is gone. The plate disappears in a puff of blue smoke. Mabel looks over in concern. Dipper shoots her a small smile. She takes his hand under the table, mouthing  _mystery twins, right?_  Dipper takes a deep breath. 

"Why are you keeping us here?" Dipper asks, trying to keep his voice even.

"Oh, straight to the point." Other Ford's smile fades, leaving a blank face. "I want you to answer some questions for me." He stands up, a long velvet blue cape swishing over the polished (blue, again) floor. "How did you get to this dimension? You don't have a dream demon like Will to transport you," Dipper glances again at Will, shivering. He's a dream demon? "-and a portal like the one I made is much too unsophisticated to transport you to this dimension. You see, Will has put barriers up." 

_He's a dream demon? Like Bill? He's so tame! Dream demons can travel inter-dimensionally, but I didn't know they could put up barriers. Rick must really be amazing-_

Morty's voice snaps him out of his thoughts.

"Um, my grandfather-" Morty steps forwards, beginning to tell Other Ford about Rick. Dipper grabs his hand. 

"No." He hisses. Morty closes his mouth.

"I see your reluctance to tell me." Other Ford smiles, that sickening leer making its way back to his lips. "You can stay for the night. Will will lead you to your rooms."

"I think we should-" Mabel begins, but Other Ford glares at her, a blue aura making his cape flap gently behind him. Mabel quails.

"Let me rephrase. You  _will_ stay the night. I hope you are comfortable." Other Ford turns around, cape sweeping dramatically behind him. Mason and other Mabel shoot one last look over their matching, perfectly clothed shoulders, and leave the dining hall.

"I will lead you to your rooms." Will bows, pushing open the dining hall door. 

* * *

Rick drops the box on the counter, beginning to rifle through the parts. Ford steps into the garage, still confused from the visit. 

"Who was-" He begins to ask.

"No. I already told you, not to-fucking-day." Rick mutters, strapping a mask onto his face. "Dismantle the portal. We won't need it anymore."

"O-ok." Ford begins to take down the huge metal panes, folding them like paper with one of Rick's strange inventions, a glove that gives the wearer super strength.  Or maybe Rick filched it off a poor mechanic in a different dimension.  

The garage is silent, save the welding sounds and random clinks of metal and glowing green crystals. 

Around two hours later, Rick's watch vibrates. He lifts the mask, reading the message. He drops the mask on the ground,  grabbing the massive rifle he was fiddling with a day ago. 

"Morty and the gang are in trouble." He hefts the gun, strapping it onto his back. 

"What? Where are they?" Ford grabs his staff, his new weapon of choice. It helped him push many a sea monster off his boat. Rick tosses him a cube. 

"Here, stick this on the end." Ford does so, and the entire staff lights up bright green. Rick tosses a sheet of paper onto the end, making it disintegrate instantly.

"Rick, isn't this a bit much?" Ford watches the green light crackle.

"No." Rick cocks the gun. "We should hurry."

* * *

Will pushes the door open to a large suite. It holds a king sized bed, a nightstand, a wardrobe, a desk, and huge windows spanning from the ceiling to the floor.

"Thanks..." Dipper mumbles, staring at the huge, luxurious room.

"Press this button if you need anything. The bathroom is that door right there." Will points them out, then begins to leave.

"Wait." Dipper says. Will stops, turning around. 

"Yes, Master Dipper?" Dipper sighs.

"Don't call me that, just Dipper, please. And how did you, a dream demon get put under the control of humans?" Will sucks in a breath.

"A contract." He turns and walks quickly away. Dipper wants to call out, but he doesn't want to call attention to himself. He enters the room, throwing the tie across the room. He flops on the bed, sinking into the expensive sheets and comforter. 

He is woken up an hour later by a banging on the wall. He blearily slides off the bed, going to the wall.

"Dipper! Dipper!" Morty's voice bleeds through the walls.

"Morty?" Dipper calls back. "What is it?"

"I called Rick! He and your Grunkle should be here soon." Dipper almost faints in relief. Rick and Grunkle Ford could handle this, no problem.

"Good job, Morty! Just...how?" Dipper asks.

"Well, Rick implanted some kinda chip into my arm, and whenever I'm critically injured or I activate it, he's alerted."

"He has you microchipped?"

"Yeah, basically."

* * *

Ford stares up at Northwest Mansion, confused.

"How could they get into trouble here?"

"Oh, these Gleefuls are nasty bitches. Remember the Reverse dimension? It's these guys. Made a contract with a fucking dream demon, and forfeited their souls." Ford's eyes widen.

"A deal with Bill?" Ford thinks back to some dark times.

"Yeah. For their souls, they get a dream demon's power for the rest of their lives. I think he might also be their butler?"  Rick mutters, loading another gun. He tosses it to Ford. "Just in case." Ford tucks it into his trench coat.

"A dream demon's power in the hand of humans..." Ford trails off.

"Yeah." Rick agrees, face grim. "I think we found our causer of anomalies." Ford gulps. Rick blasts a hole in the gate. Ford winces as Rick screams, "Lets go, motherfuckers!"

 

 

 


	6. Morty Car

Dipper sits on the bed, watching the royal blue wall shift under "his too tired eyes. It had been thirty minutes since Morty had alerted Rick. The wall swirls in front of his eyes, shifting from the other Mabel's caked up face to Mason and his condescending eyes to the other Ford with his to bright, blue, emotionless eyes. Dipper shakes his head, barely keeping his eyes open. It's dark outside, the stars bright white pinpricks in the sky. He blinks slowly, eyes sweeping across the sky. 

_There... Ursa Major..._

Dipper's eyes lazily trace the constellation, just like the one on his forehead. He finds his eyelids falling, only slightly at first, but more and more as the time ticks on. He finally gives in, dozing off.

**Pine Tree.**

Blue flames lick at Dipper's feet, not hot, but uncomfortably cold. Dipper strains against the invisible bindings, but is still.

 

* * *

 Ford walks through the smoking gate uncertainly, stepping into what should be Northwest mansion, but he's instead greeted by a large sign with  _Gleeful_ printed on it in large letters. Rick reloads the rifle, cocking it again.

"Fuck yeah! Fucking Rick and Ford in the house!" He hoots, pulling his flask out.

"Rick, focus." Ford says, looking at the large house in front of them. Dipper and Mabel are in trouble. Also Rick's grandchildren.

"Yeah, yeah." Rick burps, stowing the flask. He pulls out a ray gun, flicking the safety off. "Time to kick some Gleeful ass."

"Lets go." Ford pulls his ray gun as well. Rick and Ford stroll up to the door. Rick raises the rifle, grinning like a mad man. Ford covers his ears. Rick blasts the doors off the hinges, sending up a cloud of smoke.

"Hey, now, the masters will truly be mad." A blue man with an eye patch and a blue tail coat stands at the door, yellow flames in his hands. Ford's eyes widen. He's felt this kind of power before. Intoxicating and dangerous.

"Who-" Ford chokes out, raising the ray gun. The man raises a finger.

"The name is Will Cipher. A pleasure, Sir Stanford." The man bows, his one eye full of reproach. Ford backs up. Rick curses, aiming at Will.

"Bring us to your Master, asshole." Rick spits, but in his usual snark is fear. 

"As you wish." Will bows again, inviting the duo into the house. "I make no guarantees that you will come out alive." Ford steps into the elaborately tiled hallway, feeling the air change.

"Shit, Sixer." Rick mumbles under his breath. "We might not survive this."

* * *

 

"Sir?" Dipper sits up straight, breathing hard. He's covered in sweat, and his heart is pumping through his chest. A yellow triangle flashes through his vision, covered in blood. Will stands at the foot of the bed.

"O-oh." Dipper breathes out shakily. He wipes his head, hand coming away dripping wet.

"Shall I run a bath for you?" Will asks, leaning down with a handkerchief. Dipper takes it, nodding his head in thanks.

"That would be nice..." Dipper looks up at Will again. The man holds some similarity to Bill, his eye is the same, but the demon seems kinder than Bill. Much kinder. Will bows again, then goes to the bathroom. Dipper can hear the water running. Dipper climbs out of the bed, legs slightly shaky. He opens the curtains, squinting at the bright light shining through the window. Dipper pulls off the sweat soaked vest, and kicks off his shiny black shoes. He stumbles to the bathroom, still plagued with Bill's demonic laugh, playing over and over again.

"Sir, do you wish bubbles, oils or salts?" Will raises a few choices into the air. His gloves are still on, soaking wet.

"Why are you still wearing your gloves?" Dipper asks. Something flashes across Will's face, like he's thinking. Dipper blinks. Will peels off the glove, revealing a pentagram inscribed onto his hand. There is a cartoon eye in the middle as well. 

"Is that...?"

"Yes, the contract I made with the twins." Will confirms. He tugs his dripping glove back on. "They found Stanford's journals, and summoned me. I made a contract with them, making me their servant. I helped bring Stanford back to this dimension."

"What? Where's Stanley?" Dipper asks.

"Dead in a ditch, or scamming some poor man." Will pours some oils into the bath. Dipper shivers. "Stanford threw him out of the mansion after he came back." Will shivers. "That man..." Dipper thinks back to last night's dinner, Ford's emotionless smile and his cold, hard eyes.

"How could he?" Dipper clenches his fist. They were brothers, together until the end. Dipper could never leave Mabel, and Mabel would never leave Dipper.

"He's a cruel man. He manipulated the twins into letting him have control over my powers. Dipper, he cannot be trusted. Do not reveal anything to him."

"...I won't."

"I shall leave you to your bath then." Will places a fluffy towel on the vanity, and a set of new clothes appears from thin air. He bows, and leaves the bathroom. Dipper takes the rest of his clothes off, and sinks into the warm bath. He closes his eyes, snippets from his dreams rising up again.

_Some sunny day..._

* * *

 

Ford feels...uncomfortable to say the least. Its been a few hours since they first arrived here. Somehow, Rick is still alive after hours of questioning and torture. Other Ford hasn't lain a finger on Ford though.

"Tell me, how did you manage to get here?" His own doppelgänger asks Rick. Rick glares at the man.

"Fuck you." Rick spits. Dopplegänger Ford frowns, eyes glowing again. Rick is raised a few yards into the air, choking. 

"Stop it!" Ford shouts, straining against the blue glowing bonds. Other Ford raises an eyebrow.

"Do you have any answers?" Ford bites his lip. Rick is still straining above him, choking. He squeezes his eyes shut. Rick is hardy, but he's also seventy something, and old.

"I-" Something smacks Ford. He looks up, seeing Rick with strange metal contraptions coming out of his body.

"Do...n't...you...fucking...dare..." He chokes out, shooting doppelgänger Ford in the leg. He cries out, blue glow disappearing. Ford stands up, and Rick falls to the ground, gasping. Rick presses his temple.

"Turn into a car, Morty! Get your friends, we need to fucking go!" He presses his temple again, and a mechanical eye pops up. His arms expand, turning into guns. Doppelgänger Ford stands up, cursing. Rick shoots him again, and he falls. Ford pulls out his gun again, raising it. 

"Riiiickkkk!" Morty screams, crashing down the stairs. Summer and Mabel sit in the car.

"Where's Dipper?" Ford yells.

"I can't find him!" 

"We need to go get-" Ford starts, trying to get upstairs.

"We need to fucking go!" Rick points to Will standing behind Ford, who is fully healed. The twins flank Ford, their pendants glowing.

"But-" Ford protests, but Rick shoves him into the Morty car.

"Drive, fucking drive!" Morty screams, pulling out of the house. Morty charges out into Gravity Falls. Rick pulls his phone out.

"Beth, sweetie, I really need you to get back to the house. Yeah, now. Ok. Thanks, love you!" Rick hangs up.

"Dipper! What about Dipper?" Mabel shouts, tugging on his sweater.

"We need to find a way to face Stanford Gleeful first." Rick says. "Brace yourselves for the worst."


	7. Mindscape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill is back, and less evil than before?

Dipper sinks under the water, blowing bubbles from his mouth. He watches the bubbles swirl on the surface of the water, Bill's voice playing through his mind.

_**Pine Tree, Pine Tree, Pine Tree...** _

Dipper fully submerges his face underwater, squeezing his eyes shut. Bill Cipher is possibly still alive somewhere. All the pain was for nothing. No human, no matter how smart, could stand up to a dream demon. 

Dipper stays in the bath until the water is cold and his fingers are pruned.

He heaves his body out of the lukewarm water, wrapping the towel around himself. He dries off, then tugs on the blue outfit.

Blue, blue, blue. Dipper despises that color. He opens the door, walking back into his room. The bed looks awfully inviting. Rick and his Grunkle hadn't come to save them yet. He might as well sleep. He lays down on the bed, sinking into the comforter and back into his dreams.

* * *

Dipper's eyes shoot open. He's in a forest, mirroring the one next to the shack.He scans his surroundings. Pine trees, pine trees, fog, trees,

"Hiya, Dipstick!" Dipper scrambles backwards, a scream forming in his throat. Bill Cipher stands, or, well, floats in front of him.

"Y-you-you-" Dipper stutters, reaching for the journal instinctively, not realizing it had been long burned.

"Yep, it's me! Back from the dead. Well, not really. I can't die, but that was a good try!" Bill chuckles.

"W-what-" Dipper steps backwards slowly, his back hitting a pine tree.

"What do I want? Good question." Bill squints his eye, thinking. "Well, it's hard to explain, but I'm not looking for world domination anymore. I want to make a deal with you."

"No! You'll never-" Dipper shouts, but a single black hand clamps over his mouth.

"LET ME FINISH!" Bill roars, turning red. Dipper flinches back. Bill settles back into his normal form. "Listen, Pine Tree, you're here because of the space-time anomalies, right? Of course you are, you're with Rick." He chuckles. "Oh, that sciencey bastard. Anyway, I can tell you whats going on. And I can also help you stop the destruction of the world. But, I need passage back into your dimension. Sixer sapped most of my strength away, I'm stuck in the mindscape." Bill extends a hand. "So, what'll it be? Dipper slaps the hand away. 

"Why should I trust you?" He shouts. Bill makes a face.

"You honestly shouldn't, but I'm not looking to get destroyed along with the entire multiverse." Bill snarks. "So. Pine Tree?" The familiar blue flame begins to form on his hand.

Dipper wakes up.

* * *

"Dipper! What about Dipper?" Mabel screams, almost leaping out the window. Ford grabs her, holding her down. Summer grabs her hand, squeezing it.

"We'll get him later!" Rick yells, climbing into the front seat. "We have no chance fighting those freaks now! We need to get home!" He grabs the wheel.

"No! Dipper, we need to get Dipper!" Mabel shrieks, tears streaming down her face. "He's my brother!" Ford squeezes his eyes shut.

"Dipper's a smart boy, he'll be fine." He forces out of his mouth. Mabel only writhes harder, dripping tears and snot all over Ford's jacket. Ford hugs her closer to his chest. He had never been as close to Mabel as he had been with Dipper, but she reminded him a lot of Stan.

"Dipper!" Mabel cries as they speed away from the mansion. Ford clenches his jaw.

"We just need to prepare. We'll be back in no time." Rick says, like he's trying to convince himself.

Back at the house, Beth is sitting at the dinner table.

"Rick? Kids? And Rick's friend? How was your day?" She stands.

"Not now, sweetie. We're going back home. And when we do, you're going on a vacation." Rick rushes past her, to the garage. "Kids, watch some TV or something." Morty and Summer console a crying Mabel. Ford follows Rick to the garage.

"Rick, what is the probability we'll go back there and save Dipper?" Ford asks.

"With that bastard Bill look-alike there and no other weapons of our own? Around 1 percent." Rick says, fiddling with the portal gun. 

"So what weapons do we need?" Ford asks. He can't lose Dipper. 

"A contract with another dream demon, preferably." Rick answers, raising the gun. 

"So you mean..." Ford trails off.

"Yes." And with a flash of green light, they're back in Dimension C-137. Rick turns back to Ford. "We're going to need to find that friend of yours, Bill Cipher. Or we can go to a Z dimension."

* * *

 Dipper opens his eyes to Will standing over him. He's breathing hard, and had a hand clenched around Will's wrist.

"Huh..." He mumbles, looking at Will. Then, eyes snapping wide open, he lets go and falls out of bed.

"Good morning, Dipper." Will greets Dipper, massaging his wrist.

"I-I-I'm so s-sorry!" Dipper sits up, stuttering.

 "It's quite alright, Dipper." He murmurs, placing a hand on Dipper's shoulder. A cooling sensation spreads over Dipper, slowing his racing heart and calming his hyperactive brain. Dipper takes a deep breath. The dream he had surfaces suddenly.

"Hey, Will?" Dipper asks. "Do you know a dream demon called Bill Cipher?" Will's face flickers with recognition.

"Yes, he's basically a yellow me." Dipper nods, Rick had told him that Will was Bill but reversed.

"He... appeared in my dream last night." Will's eyes widen. "He told me of some anomalies in space-time and the possible destruction of the world." Will's expression changes to something strange, but it disappears as soon as Dipper can glance over.

"Is that so?" Will leans forwards.

"He wanted me to make a deal with him." 

"You absolutely cannot!" Will almost yells. Dipper jumps at the sudden noise.

"O-ok." 

"Listen to me, he's manipulative, and a destroyer of worlds. He was the weakest demon in his dimension, but he is incredibly cunning. He took the souls of humans he manipulated, and became like this. Do not trust him!" Will stands up, eyes focused suddenly. Dipper's watches as his eyes dilate, then return to normal.

"W-will?"

"I must go, Dipper. I need to make breakfast. You will be called down in approximately an hour and a half." Will takes his leave, shutting the door behind him.

 

 


	8. Cipher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff goes down.

"We can't summon Bill!" Ford yells, slamming his hand on the table. "You know what he did. He's unpredictable and powerful! We can not trust him!"

"Guess what, dipass? You _will_ die without his help, and your precious nephew will be dead! Or tortured! Or possessed! Or all three!" Rick shouts back.

"No! I put my foot down here, Rick! You are a genius, but this is foolish!" Ford roars, grabbing Rick's shirt. "Bill Cipher cannot be trusted!"

"He  _will_ be fucking trusted, unless you want to go to a dimension full of Bills to make a deal with you!" Rick shouts. 

"We can find another way! You have the entire multiverse full of weapons, and you want to use the most dangerous creature in it?" Ford lets Rick go, running a hand through his hair. "It's nonsense, that's what it is!"

"Nothing other than a dream demon can face a dream demon!" Rick yells. "There's no other way, fucker! You're coming with me, or I'll go by myself." Rick taps coordinates into his portal gun. Ford watches him in confusion. Rick can't access the mindscape with a portal gun. Then Rick's eye disappears, in its place, a cybernetic one. 

"Fuc-" Ford manages to get out before Rick knocks him out, linking his mind to Ford's.

* * *

"Heeeeelllllllooooo, Sixer!" Bill Cipher trills, floating in the grey of the mindscape. Ford raises a gun, aiming it at Bill's black, too big, cartoon eye.

"Stop it, Ford." Rick places a hand over the end of the gun. He turns to Bill. "Bill Cipher. You know about the anomalies happening in the multiverse."

"Oho, straight to the point, I like you! Rick, right?" Bill laughs, voice echoing throughout the fog. Rick narrows his eyes. Bill scrutinizes him, eye squinting. "Don't worry, Rick Sanchez. You and I are on the same side today. No need to be cautious!" Rick takes a step back as the word cautious falls from Bill's "lips". 

"Bill, answer us!" Ford cuts, in, raising the gun again. His fingers shake at the sight of Bill, whole and hale in front of him.

"Sixer, you know well that that gun will never work on me." Bill nonchalantly examines his non-existent nails. "Anyways, you wanted answers? Let's sit down and have some tea." Bill snaps his fingers, and the mindscape transforms into the Northwest tea room.

"Bill Cipher. I've heard much about you." Rick says, taking the teacup of vodka from the table carefully. 

"I know, I'm so popular!" Bill flaps a hand at Rick, anime style blushes forming on his cheeks.

"And I know you have what we need to stop these tears in space-time. You know who's causing this?" Rick asks, draining the cup, then setting it on the table. Ford anxiously cups his tea, fingers shaking. 

"Yes. I do." Bill confirms. 

"We need you to tell us." Rick says, linking his fingers together. Bill's eye crinkles in amusement. 

"Oh, I could! But what will you give me in exchange?" Bill leans forwards. "Your children?" An image of Dipper, Mabel, Morty, Summer, and Beth flashes in front of Rick. "Your souls?" Flames spark in Bill's hand at that. "Your freedom? Your speech? Your thoughts?" His eyes slides back up, locking with Ford's. "...your body?" Ford backs up, the eye piercing straight into his heart. Ford grabs Rick's shoulder, pulling Rick to face him. He had been given a similar deal so long ago. His hand trembles on Rick's bony shoulder.

"Rick. We need to leave. Bill is devious-" Ford stands, but is pushed to the side by a thin, bony hand. Rick extends an arm to Bill.

"You won't take anything. I'll lend you my body, but nothing more." 

"Oh? Is that so? Why would you think that was enough?" Bill narrows his eye, leaning back.

"Because this concerns you too. If you don't take this deal, you'll never be able to stop this from happening. Take my hand, seal the deal, save the motherfucking multiverse." Rick pushes his hand out further. Bill chuckles.

"How shrewd. I accept." Bill takes Rick's hand, blue fires igniting, just like so long ago. Ford covers his ears as Rick begins to scream, the demon finding a place in Rick's body in-between the old, creaky organs and bones.

Ford wakes up next to Rick, a needle in his head. He pulls it out, wincing at the shooting pain. Rick opens his eyes, the pupils black and slitted, the whites yellow. Ford shivers at the sight. "Rick" sits up, flexing his fingers and stretching.

"Oh, man! It's been too long!" Rick shouts in Bill's strange voice quality. He jumps up, dancing, and smashes Rick's hand with a hammer. "Wow, pain is still great-"

"Fuck off, dipass, this is my body, I'm loaning it to you!" Rick takes back control for a second, eyes returning to black pupils on white. He grabs a syringe sitting on the table, and stabs his hand with it. With a crackle, the bones snap back together, healing instantly. Bill's eyes return.

"Fine. Killjoy." Bill pouts with Rick's face.

"Tell me about the anomalies now." Ford says, standing. He steadies himself on a chair.

"Fine." Bill-Rick pulls out a whiteboard, brandishing a marker. "This will take a while, so feel free to take notes."

Ford pulls a notepad and pencil out of his coat, and places the tip on the paper.

"So..."

* * *

 Dipper drags himself down the endless spiraling stairs for breakfast. The Gleefuls already sit at the table, perfectly still, like dolls or mannequins. He tilts his head in a sort of greeting. Like on cue, the three grin. Dipper shivers, crossing the distance. He sits at the end of the table.

"Good morning, Dipper Pines. I hope you slept well." Dipper scoffs at that. 

"Sure, yeah. You could say that." Dipper says, shifting in his seat. Sitting before these three people was like sitting before a polygraph machine when you clearly are lying. 

"It doesn't seem so, other brother dear." Other Mabel's lips curl up, fake concern bleeding into her voice.

"No, I'm fine." Dipper insists, just wanting her voice out of his ears. 

"Breakfast." Will brushes into the room, dishes setting themselves on the table with a soft clink. The lids fly off, releasing some steam. It's hashbrowns, toast and sausage. Dipper frowns. The Gleefuls set themselves upon the food. Mason notices Dipper poking at his food.

"What's the matter, other me?" He asks, leaning his cheek on his fist.

"I...don't like this food." Dipper says, pushing the plate away.

"Is that so?" Stanford wipes his mouth, then takes a long sip of coffee. "Will." The man appears by Stanford's side. "You have displeased our guest."

"Yes, Master." Will bows his head. Stanford raises a hand. Will stands in front of Mabel. 

"Mabel?" Stanford lazily gestures towards the girl, who unsheathes a small knife from her jacket. She throws it with terrifying accuracy, impaling Will's chest. Dipper jumps up, a scream stuck in his throat. Will grimaces, taking the knife out of his chest. Blood gushes from the wound, soaking his clothes. He coughs, blood dribbling from his lips.

"Clean it up." Mason tosses a napkin towards Will, who catches it, pressing it against the wound. He bows, pain twisting the action.

"Right away, master." He rushes off towards the kitchen, careful not to drip blood on the carpet.

"Y-you-what-he's injured!" Dipper chokes out. 

"He's a demon. He needs to be kept in check. Besides, this isn't his real form. Once he bleeds black, you know he's actually dying." Other Mabel explains monotonously, examining a jeweled knife with sapphires set into the sliver hilt.

"Will is incredibly dangerous. He must be punished often. You can't let a thing like him run free." Mason agrees, polishing his pendant. Dipper sits back down. It makes sense, but Will seems perfectly under control already. Dipper looks around. The rest of the Gleefuls seem calm, like this is regular procedure. He also notices the three empty chairs next to him.

"Where are my sister and my friends?" Dipper places his hands on the table, arms trembling. Stanford raises his eyes to meet Dipper's.

"They're gone." 

"What do you mean, they're gone?" Dipper yells, smacking a plate off the table. Mason watches it shatter on the floor.

"Careful, that's worth more than you..." He mutters, reading a book under the table.

"Mason, what have I told you about reading at the table?" Stanford booms. Mason sighs, shutting the book with a quiet thunk. Stanford turns his attention back to Dipper. "Exactly what I said. They've left you for dead." Dipper shrinks back at the words and his gaze, cold and blue.

"No. They wouldn't have." Dipper refuses to believe it.

"But they did." Other Mable giggles. "I was there. 'Leave Dipper!' That blue haired man said. 'We need to go now!' That version of your Ford said." Mabel mocks Rick and Ford's voices. Dipper feels his heart drop to his toes, chilling his body.

"They...couldn't. They wouldn't!" Dipper yells, protesting.

"They did, moron. They. Left. You." Mason punctuates each word, cutting Dipper with each syllable.

"Will! Take our guest back to his room." Stanford shouts, lips pulled up in an ugly sneer. "We'll call you back down for lunch and see what you're willing to tell us now."

Will brushes out of the kitchen, now in a black suit.

"This way, Master Pines." He places a reassuring hand on Dipper's back. Dipper lets himself be guided back up to his room by the blue demon.

 


	9. Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistakes were made that night.

Ford stands up, joints creaking. He had a whole notepad of information about the anomalies in time-space. The Intergalactic Government is still down, but the Citadel has been put under a new president, a Morty. He quickly placed several reforms, making the Citadel highly militarized and prioritizing Morty education in order to create an army. The Citadel had been keeping an eye on things, but hadn't done much yet. The reverse dimension, C-274 had been the main cause of anomalies, despite Weirdmaggedon not even happening. This was because of that world's Bill. Or Will, in this case. 

"Yeah, he seems like a timid rat, but he's a real pain in the ass. Incredibly strong and deceptive, even for a Bill. And he has-quite ironically-a will. Will power. The rest of us dream demons don't really have a goal, just cause trouble, make enemies, date the occasional human or alien, destroy a world a few times..." Ford squints at Bill-Rick. "Right, right. But still, we just exist and cause havoc on the way. But Will, he wants to rule the world."

"Why is he different?" Ford asks, tapping the pen against his forehead. "I know that you guys exist in different timelines slightly altered, but this seems like a really big difference."

"Dunno." Bill-Rick shrugs his shoulders. "He's blue, and his name is Will. That's already pretty different."

"Ok, give me my body back, asshat." Rick shakes his head, and he's back. "That was weird." Rick shudders, then goes for his flask. 

"Yeah, got that right." Ford sighs. Rick places the flask on the table.

"Want any?" He asks. Ford looks at it, weighing the possible consequences of taking a drink. Knowing Rick, it had at least a 40 percent alcohol concentration. Ford shrugs, grabbing the flask. The liquid burns on the way down, making Ford cough.

"You did always love your Hennessy." Ford gasps, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"You always did have a low tolerance." Rick replies, pulling a bottle of vodka from a cabinet in the wall. He pops the cap, taking a long swig. 

"That's a lie, Rick. I could go toe to toe with you." Ford takes another sip of the cognac, his brain already feeling a little fuzzy.

"You wanna try it?" Rick pulls another bottle from the cabinet. He smirks, sliding the bottle over. Ford barely manages to catch it, and fumbles with the top. "I'll have to grow you a whole new liver by tomorrow."

"You're going down, Sanchez." Ford lifts the opening of the bottle to his lips, and the last thing he feels are chapped lips and bony hands.

* * *

Dipper lies on the bed, eyes shut firmly. He feels his heartbeat in his head, thudding firmly. It's giving him a head ache. He rolls over, covering his head with a blue pillow.

Blue, blue, blue. Dipper screams into it. He will never look at this color the same way. The rain taps on the windows, pitter pattering, drilling into his head with each quiet tap. The rain drops sync with his heartbeat, drumming away, chipping at Dipper's brain. 

He doesn't know how long he stays like this. Feels like forever. 

A different knocking rouses Dipper, bringing his head up to groggily gaze at the heavy wooden door.

"Dipper?" Will's timing voice barely breaks through the fog that Dipper's in. "May I come in?"

"Sure." Dipper grunts. The steady thumping of the rain and his heartbeat quiets significantly as Will steps into the room. As Will sits on the bed next to him, the thudding almost disappears. 

"I thought we could maybe talk. You're probably shaken by these...developments." Will says in his soft, soothing voice.

Dipper sinks into the mild conversation like one would sink into a warm bath.

Will's voice cradles him, lulling Dipper into sleep.

* * *

 

The room smells of alcohol. Ford feels like a drill has been shoved through his ears. He grunts, sitting up, and another spike of pain shoots through his head. A slender arm, pale and chalky, falls off of Ford's torso and hits the ground with a thump. He looks down, vision blurry, then gropes the floor and table for his glasses. He slides them onto his face, hand shaky, and looks for the owner of the arm. 

Rick lies on the floor, sprawled out, missing his clothes. Ford blinks, once, twice, then groans, falling back to the floor. Just like old times. A bit too much like old times. He realizes he's also missing his clothes, and grabs his pants, tugging them on, and pulls on his sweater. He lies there, head pounding, too close to throwing up.

"Fuck." Ford mutters, rummaging through Rick's discarded lab coat. He pulls a small pink bottle out of one of the pockets, taking three of the white pills. Almost instantly, his head stops throbbing, and the world stops swaying. He sits up, stretching his shoulders. 

"Fuck, Ford. Did you hit me with a hammer?" Rick groans, rolling over. Ford wordlessly tosses the bottle of pills to Rick, who downs half the bottle. He definitely drank more than Ford, a whopping five bottles and a glass of Beth's wine. Ford had to stop at one. 

"That was..." Ford massages his temples, thinking of the right words to say.

"Great. You haven't lost it yet, old fuck." Rick smirks, pulling his clothes on. "Six fingers really-"

"No! We're not going to go there." Ford shouts, covering his ears. Rick laughs, then coughs. 

"I need water." He groans, then pulling his lab coat over his shoulders, opens the door of the garage. "Feel free to take a shower." He shuts the door. Ford slumps into a chair, sighing. He needed to help Dipper, who was possibly being tortured, or worse in the hands of those creepy doppelgängers. And here he was, getting back up to his old lifestyle, with Rick as the impetus, yet again. He would pull you into him, then leave you, like a old tool. Alone. Ford thought he had settled down as much a anomaly hunter could, but with Rick around, things were strewn everywhere. Priorities last, gratification first. Rick had confidence and the genius to back his lifestyle up, but even Rick admitted he could do nothing against Will. They should be working, not fucking around. Literally. But Rick had always been able to lead people astray, onto his path. Ford pulls his glasses off, slapping a hand over his eyes. 

"What am I doing?"

* * *

Mabel had cried herself to sleep. Dipper was gone, maybe to never return. Ford and Rick had said so as well. This was scarier than any Weirdmaggedon, the feeling of being alone. Alone, alone, alone. No-one to cover your mistakes and insecurities, no-one to be there for you, no-one to defend you.

Alone, alone, alone. 

Mabel pulls the blanket around herself tighter, blotting the tears from her face.

 


	10. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHATS UP! IM BACK FROM THE DEAD! AND WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER! IM SO SORRY FOR BEING GONE FOR LIKE THREE YEARS BUT HERE WE ARE! IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS FOR WHAT YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE PLEASE TELL ME!

Will often slipped into Dipper's room at night to talk. He always brought food, as the Gleefuls hadn't summoned Dipper from his room in a few days. Dipper enjoyed the visits, as they were the only thing keeping him sane. His suite was silent, and the drum of his heart drove him crazy. Will's voice washed everything away, like a warm bath. Dipper relished the small tales, though he rarely payed attention to them. He just let the demon's voice drown the beat of his heart away.

Today was different. It had been silent, as usual. Dipper had spent the day reading a book from the shelves, words blurring under his tired eyes. His stomach growled, but there wasn't much he could do about that. It was only four. Will would be making dinner for the Gleefuls soon. Dipper slumps over onto the book, drifting off again.

"Dipper!" A muffled voice echoes from outside the door. Dipper raises his head, recognizing the voice as Will's.

"Come in." Dipper shuts the book with a muffled thump. The door creaks open, and Will slips into the room, holding a tray of cookies and hot cocoa.

"I thought you might be hungry." Will places the tray on the nightstand, taking a seat next to Dipper on the bed.

"I am  _starving_. You're a god, Will." Dipper grabs the cookies, the first two finding their way down his throat. The hot cocoa follows quickly after.

"A god..." Will chuckles, loosening his tie. 

"Indeed, my friend." Dipper sighs contentedly, flopping back onto a pillow. The room is silent, save for the drumming of the rain against the windowpanes. Unlike his own Gravity Falls, it rained almost every single day here. Will stands, walking over to the curtains. He pulls the dark blue velvet back, letting the dim light from outside in. 

"How gloomy." Will places his hand on the window, watching the rain strike the pane and slide off. "The rain truly makes for a dreary backdrop." Dipper sighs, rolling off the bed. 

"Really, though. In my world, it rarely rained. It was bright and sunny all the time, so you could do whatever you wanted outside." Dipper takes his hat off, fingers brushing the pine tree embroidered on it. 

"Really? Tell me more about your Gravity Falls." Will turns to him, eye gleaming. "I want to hear what its like outside of this humdrum town."

"You do?"

"Yes. Tell me everything."

So he did. To Grunkle Stan's Mystery Shack, to the gnomes that tried to marry Mabel, to the mermaid that Mabel fell in love with and every other thing she tried to date. He told Will about his crush on Wendy, the coolest girl ever, and his rivalry with Robbie. About Pacifica and Gideon and how they found Ford and nearly dying from the triangular dream demon, Bill.

"That sounds amazing." Will sighs. "Maybe besides the nearly dying bit."

"Yeah. It really was." Dipper rubs the pine tree on his hat. "And now, here we are." He stares out the window, at the gloomy landscape, wet from the torrent of rain from the past few days. Will sits silently next to him, stroking the velvet patch on his blue tailcoat.

"Say, Dipper. Would you like to go outside?" Will asks, standing.

"What? In the rain?"

"There's nothing else to do, and we can just get changed afterwards. We can have some fun." Will grins, extending a hand.

"Yeah. Yeah! Sounds like fun!" Dipper smiles, jumping up from the bed. He grabs Will's hand, and lets the demon lead him out of the room through a secret exit.

* * *

"Hey." Rick steps into the basement. Ford grunts, screwdriver jammed in his mouth. Rick holds two cups of black coffee in his hands. He places one steaming cup next to Ford, and takes a sip out of the other. "So." Rick says into the suffocating silence. Ford doesn't respond, instead he furiously screws on a nut. Rick stands there, silent, and at a loss for words for once.

"What?" Ford spits out the screwdriver, giving his new device a few smacks.

"Y'know, how's life and...stuff." Rick mumbles, burying his face back into his coffee.

"Fine. What do you want?" Ford presses a button, and the machine whirrs to life, legs snapping out of the bottom.

"Dunno. What do you want?" Rick shrugs, setting the empty cup of coffee down on the table with a clink.

"My fucking nephew back?" Ford growls, taking his glasses off. "I don't know!" Rick scowls.

"We are in the process of it, Ford! I made a deal with Bill! The squiggly motherfucking bastard's in my body right now!"

"I can hear you, bitch." Rick morphs into Bill-Rick, then back into Rick.

"Shut the fuck up, fucker!" Rick shouts. He sits on the floor.

"Listen, you old fuck. I know Dipper is still with the Northwests, and could be dead-" Ford covers his face, slumping back in his chair, "-But we are doing what we can."

"I know that." Ford's voice comes out choked with tears.

"Oh, fuck." Rick sighs, rubbing his temples.

"Oh fuck?" Ford mocks Rick, uncovering his eyes. "You'd be just as sad if that deadbeat grandson of yours was caught!"

"Hey!" Rick stands up, the tiny robot on the desk falling off with a sad whirr. "That might be fucking true, but that doesn't give you the right to say it, dickwad!"

"You just said it!" Ford shouts, scrubbing at his eyes furiously.

"I'm allowed to!" 

"This is wasting time!" Ford stands up, eyes red from crying. "We need to get Dipper before-before-" Ford slumps against the wall. "Before he's killed." He doesn't move. Rick watches him, watches his shoulders shake under this all too large burden.

"I'm sorry." He kneels by Ford, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

The rain keeps on pouring.

 

 


End file.
